Abstract Detail

Biogeography

Murphy, Daniel [1].

Endemism is not enough: biogeographic patterns in Australian plants.

Australia has been the subject of many historical biogeographic analyses of its flora. However, there has been difficulty in defining endemic areas, and biogeographic barriers within Australia. Most acknowledge that these problems are the complexities of studying the history of an intra-continental flora, where sharp or abrupt barriers between historical biotic areas may be lacking. Currently there is a focus on broad-scale ecologically-based biomes to investigate their recent evolution and the assembly of their floristic elements. For example, Northern Australia is dominated by a monsoon tropical savanna biome and the central parts of Australia form an arid biome. However, some studies and reviews have found multi-layered and complex historical distributional patterns of endemism of plants in these areas, with recent (some human-mediated), pre-human and ancient (relictual) distributions recorded. To distinguish these complex recent evolutionary histories, a return to a smaller scale of regionalization of biotic areas has been necessary and a comparative approach using multiple lineages is required. In this talk I will review some of the main results and illustrate the broad ecological and historical patterns that are emerging, discussing new approaches using examples of iconic plant groups in Australia such as Acacia and Adansonia.

1 - Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Plant Sciences, Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004

Keywords:
Australia
Biogeography
Acacia
Adansonia
comparative method.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 37, Biogeography II
Location: 103/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: 37012
Abstract ID:823
Candidate for Awards:None